VE Day – or ‘Victory in Europe Day’ – marks the day towards the end of World War Two (WW2) when fighting against Nazi Germany in Europe came to an end, following almost six years of conflict.
On 8 May 1945, Prime Minister Winston Churchill made an announcement on the radio at 3pm that the war in Europe had come to an end, following Germany’s surrender the day before.
In celebration of this day, the usual Bank Holiday Monday, on the first Monday of May, was moved to Friday 8 May to allow for national celebration. With plans for street parties and commemorative events now abandoned due to the Coronavirus outbreak, we wanted to find a way to remember those who served to win our peace, and to all those who gave the greatest sacrifice for our freedom.
In tribute to this, we have done several things within the academy to allow students, along with their families, to join in the celebrations. These include:
- sending all students and parents resources to enable them to create their own bunting and window displays. Hopefully the weather will be sunny, and families can celebrate together – maybe with a tea party of BBQ! There resources have been created by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport and can also be found here.
- encouraging students in the academy to create their own tributes – these can be seen at the entrance to the academy and in the windows. The windows look particularity spectacular at night! Just take a look at the photos…
- suggested families make time capsules, to not only mark VE day, but to also to remember the time we find ourselves in now, in years to come.
Other ways to get involved have also been suggested by the Royal British Legion Industries (RBLI), which also organises the Poppy Appeal. These include a board of messages where you can leave words of thanks, along with words to Dame Vera Lynn’s ‘We’ll Meet Again’, which will be sung at 9pm on Friday 8 May, in a UK-wide rendition of to mark the 75th anniversary of VE Day. You can find out more here.
We hope you can join us for a two-minute silence at 11am from home on Friday 8 May, to remember the declaration of victory and the end of the Second World War in Europe, paying tribute to heroes past and present.
